The Bill of Rights

The Constitution has been amended 26 times since 1789, and it is
likely to be further revised in the future. The most sweeping
changes were made within two years of its adoption. In that
period, the first 10 amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were added. They were
approved as a block by the
Congress
in September 1789, and ratified by 11 states by the end of 1791.

Much of the initial resistance to the Constitution came not from
those opposed to strengthening the federal union, but from
statesmen who felt that the rights of individuals must be
specifically spelled out. One of these was George Mason, author
of
the Declaration of Rights of Virginia, which was a forerunner of
the Bill of Rights. As a delegate to the Constitutional
Convention, Mason refused to sign the document because he felt
individual rights were not sufficiently protected. Indeed,
Mason's
opposition nearly blocked ratification by Virginia. As noted
earlier, Massachusetts, because of similar feelings, conditioned
its ratification on the addition of specific guarantees of
individual rights. By the time the First Congress convened,
sentiment for adoption of such amendments was nearly unanimous,
and
the Congress lost little time in drafting them.

These amendments remain intact today, as they were written two
centuries ago. The first guarantees freedom of worship, speech
and
press, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition
the government to correct wrongs. The second guarantees the
right
of citizens to bear arms. The third provides that troops may not
be quartered in private homes without the owner's consent. The
fourth guards against unreasonable searches, arrests and seizures
of property.

The next four amendments deal with the system of justice: The
fifth
forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a
grand
jury. It prohibits repeated trials for the same offense; forbids
punishment without due process of law and provides that an
accused
person may not be compelled to testify against himself. The
sixth
guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It
requires trial by an unbiased jury, guarantees the right to legal
counsel for the accused, and provides that witnesses shall be
compelled to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the
accused. The seventh assures trial by jury in civil cases
involving anything valued at more than 20 U.S. dollars. The
eighth
forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel or unusual punishment.

The last two of the 10 amendments contain very broad statements
of
constitutional authority: The ninth declares that the listing of
individual rights is not meant to be comprehensive; that the
people
have other rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
The 10th provides that powers not delegated by the Constitution
to
the federal government nor prohibited by it to the states are
reserved to the states or the people.